Obama and the Democrats Rush To Pass Health Care Bill

[Warph]

Obama has three years left on his term.  I ask, what the hell is the rush to push this awful expensive bill of his through now... a bill riddled with pork, cutting Medicare in half and leaving out the States say so and having the federal government handle it, and looking to put the public option back in this turkey?   Congress used to have a voice in the construction of American leadership.  What the hell happened? 

I think the summit is a good idea so, let them (Repub's and Demo's) work on this bill in the three years he has left in office and get it right for the American people who THEY WORK FOR, not for their greedy satisfaction.  Get the Congressional Budget Office more involved and give them time so they can crunch the numbers as the summit progress's so that they know, without a doubt, where they stand on the total cost of this bill.  Health Care needs reform, no doubt about it, so I say.... start with a BLANK page and take it from there.  WHAT DO YOU THINK? ...Warph


Here is what Huckabee has to say as it stands right now:
The Democrats are panicking!  Their public statements and different bills are all over the map on health care, but despite their confusion, one thing remains clear: the government takeover of our health care system is very much alive.

Leading Democrats (including the President) are choosing to push ahead with one of their bills rather than starting over as Republicans have suggested.

Here is what we know:

***President Obama released his draft of a health care plan today ahead of the summit he is convening this week. The plan has not been scored by the Congressional Budget Office so any claims made by the plan have not been fact-checked and should be taken with a lot of salt.

***Meanwhile according to published news accounts, Harry Reid is said to be entertaining the idea of bringing the public option back up for a vote after eight Democrat Senators sent him a letter asking him to do so.

***And Nancy Pelosi is insisting all-the-while that the government option passed by the House is the bill that needs to be signed into law.

Heads are spinning in Washington as the Democrats push to ram health care through before the American people have their say on Election Day.

No matter how they couch the language, the end result will be the same if these liberal Democrats succeed. Don't let anyone fool you – public option means government run health care. The liberals in Congress have been outspoken in their desire to have the government take over our health care. Of course, they believe that the government should run everything in this country – from cradle to grave.

Why are they so anxious to have Reid bring the public option back? The answer is easy. These advocates of a government takeover of our health care know that without the public option, their chances of having the government totally involved, decrease dramatically.

Most of us realize that we need some reform in our health care system. What we do not need is a government which has made such a mess out of running the country in charge of our health care. We can make health care more affordable, with increased competition and with more choices for consumers without creating a monstrosity.

To those politicians who are determined to bring the public option back to life, I say we will fight you every step of the way. If you think we can't do it, you should look at Virginia and New Jersey and Massachusetts. The American people are disgusted with bills drafted in secret by partisan politicians.

Their voices will be heard, and Huck PAC and I will stand with the American people. Bring it on if you dare!!

......Gov. Mike Huckabee 02/22/10

[frawin]

Good post Warph. The continued arrogant actions and attitude of the House, Senate and Obama are really helping the chances of the Republicans to gain control of the house and senate in the fall elections. I think more and more Democrats may abandon ship on Obama as they don't want to give up their coveted House or Senate seat. The Christians, working people, Military, and those that love this Nation will get out and vote in mass in the fall and I think they will make it clear they have had enogh of Obamas lies and arrogance.

[jarhead]

Watched part of this circus today. I thought the "O-man" was gonna take his toys and go home. Really enjoyed watching him scold McCain and point out they weren't campaigning anymore. Look in a mirror Mr Prez.

[Warph]

Breakdown of the Health Care Summit today:

As the health summit winded down, it's clear that it won't end with a group hug followed by unanimous votes in favor of an overhaul.  But the day was unique, in that the format forced everyone to debate the issues instead of vilifying each other in the press or TV ads.  There also weren't special interests in the room.  Too often these kinds of summits allow every big lobby--the doctors, HMOs, union bosses, the drug makers, etc.--to weigh in.  The White House can pat itself on the back for getting its message out and hearing from critics in a way that didn't dumb down the issue.

Before we turn off YouTube, which turned out to be a better way to watch than CNN or Fox, here are a few more superlatives:

Best Argument for Comprehensive Reform:
Tom Harkin, who shared that when he used to sell insurance as a young man, he learned the principle that the more people in the pool, the cheaper it is.  He also used data from Massachusetts and state examples form Washington and others, to make the case for why incremental reform, such as just regulating insurance rates, wouldn't work.

Best Argument Against Comprehensive Reform:
Paul Ryan, who asked: "if Congress can't make Medicare rational or solvent, why should we entrust it with running the rest of the health care sector?"  Jon Kyl made related points about Washington designing the insurance sold over the exchange--and effectively banning cheaper coverage.

Worst Argument In Favor of an Overhaul:
Jay Rockefeller, breaking the news that for-profit insurance companies are "in it for the money" and calling the industry "a shark that swims under the water."  The idea that insurance companies themselves cause and don't just reflect excessive spending is facile.

Worst Argument Against One:
States rights and regulation should trump Washington (says Paul Ryan), but insurance should be sold across state lines to create national competition (says Marsha Blackburn).  It's hard to have it both ways.

Most MIA:
Charles Grassley, who was Baucus' negotiating partner back when the bill was in the Senate Finance committee, and a de facto GOP health care spokesman, didn't talk until near the end, and not for very long.  John McCain and others got much more airtime. Did Grassley get benched?   hmmmmm......

Best Substitute for Counting Sheep:
Joe Biden, with a huge grin on his face, who treated everyone to an interminable history lecture that skipped from Social Security's beginnings, to Medicare Advantage, to ... it wasn't always clear.... as usual!

Best Judge Judy Impersonation:
Obama, who interjected with his own arguments, interrupted people countless times when necessary, looked bored occasionally, but overall tried to keep everyone on point and on time.  What a Clown!  ....Warph

[Teresa]

THIS HITS IT OUT OF THE BALL PARK !  It has been taken off the video tapes of the National Legislature Floor!  It was taken inside Congress with a Congressman.

YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS .

[Warph]

Last thursday: Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, speaking at the February 25, 2010, Bipartisan White House Summit on health care. Rep. Paul Ryan is a Budget Committee Ranking Member and one very sharp dude.

Quote from Rep. Ryan to Obama: "The American people are engaged, and if you think they want a government takeover of health care, I would respectfully submit you're not listening to them."

(The video:

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================================================
The Health Care Summit in a nutshell by Rep. Paul Ryan:

(The Video:  

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The Obama Budget
Rep.Paul Ryan
February 02, 2010

(The video:

)

From GOP Retreat in Baltimore:

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WIS.): Mr. President, first of all, thanks for agreeing to accept our invitation here. It is a real pleasure and honor to have you with us here today.

OBAMA: Good to see you.

Is this your crew right here, by the way?

RYAN: Yes, this is my daughter Liza, my sons Charlie and Sam, and this is my wife Janna.

OBAMA: Hey, guys.

RYAN: Say "hi" to everybody.

(LAUGHTER)

I serve as the ranking member of the Budget Committee, so I want to talk a little budget, if you don't mind.

OBAMA: Yes.

RYAN: The spending bills that you have signed into law, the domestic and discretionary spending has been increased by 84 percent. You now want to freeze spending at this elevated level beginning next year. This means that total spending in your budget would grow at 300ths of 1 percent less than otherwise. I would simply submit that we could do more and start now.

You've also said that you want to take a scalpel to the budget and go through it line by line. We want to give you that scalpel. I have a proposal with my home state senator, Russ Feingold, a bipartisan proposal, to create a constitutional version of the line- item veto.

(APPLAUSE)

The problem is we can't even get a vote on the proposal.

So my question is, why not start freezing spending now? And would you support a line-item veto and helping us get a vote on it in the House?

OBAMA: Let me respond to the two specific questions, but I want to just push back a little bit on the underlying premise, about us increasing spending by 84 percent.

Now, look, I talked to Peter Orszag right before I came here, because I suspected I'd be hearing this -- I'd be hearing this argument.

The fact of the matter is that most of the increases in this year's budget, this past year's budget, were not as a consequence of policies that we initiated, but instead were built in as a consequence of the automatic stabilizers that kick in because of this enormous recession.

So the increase in the budget for this past year was actually predicted before I was even sworn into office and had initiated any policies. Whoever was in there, Paul -- and I don't think you'll dispute that -- whoever was in there would have seen those same increases because of, on the one hand, huge drops in revenue, but at the same time people were hurting and needed help. And a lot of these things happen automatically.

Now, the reason that I'm not proposing the discretionary freeze take into effect this year, retro -- we prepared a budget for 2010, it's now going forward -- is, again, I am just listening to the consensus among people who know the economy best.

And what they will say is that if you either increased taxes or significantly lowered spending when the economy remains somewhat fragile, that that would have a de-stimulative effect and potentially you'd see a lot of folks losing business, more folks potentially losing jobs. That would be a mistake when the economy has not fully taken off.

That's why I've proposed to do it for the next fiscal year. So, that's point number two.

With respect to the line-item veto, I actually -- I think there's not a president out there that wouldn't love to have it. And, you know, I think that this is an area where we can have a serious conversation. I know it is a bipartisan proposal by you and Russ Feingold.

I don't like being held up with big bills that have stuff in them that are wasteful but I've got to sign because it's a defense authorization bill and I've got to make sure that our troops are getting the funding that they need.

I will tell you, I would love for Congress itself to show discipline on both sides of the aisle. I think one thing that, you know, you have to acknowledge, Paul, because you study this stuff and take it pretty seriously, that the earmarks problem is not unique to one party, and you end up getting a lot of pushback when you start going after specific projects of any one of you in your districts, because wasteful spending is usually spent somehow outside of your district. Have you noticed that? The spending in your district tends to seem pretty sensible.

So I would love to see more restraint within Congress. I'd like to work on the earmarks reforms that I mentioned in terms of putting earmarks online, because I think sunshine is the best disinfectant. But I am willing to have a serious discussion on the line-item veto issue.

RYAN: OK. I'd like to walk you through it, because we have a version we think is constitutional . . .

OBAMA: Let me take a look at it.

RYAN: I would simply say that automatic stabilizer spending is mandatory spending. The discretionary spending, the bills that Congresses signs -- that you sign into law, that has increased 84 percent. So . . .

OBAMA: We'll have a -- we'll have a longer debate on the budget numbers there, all right?

=============================================================

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WIS.)
February 04, 2010
To the House of Representatives:  Obama's Budget STINKS

(The video:  

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"The Speaker of the House came and just said something to the effect that this was a proud moment a happy occasion a bill shes really excited about. The bill were about to vote on, Madame Speaker,...  
The Speaker of the House came and just said something to the effect that this was a proud moment a happy occasion a bill shes really excited about. The bill were about to vote on, Madame Speaker, raises the national debt ceiling by $1.9 trillion. Even if I were a supporter of this bill, I wouldnt be proud of it.

Ive taken a look at the Presidents budget. On page 172, table S-9, the Presidents PAY-GO proposal says at the end of the budget window we can spend another $473 billion. So, were saying, all the debt thats going up, the tripling of the national debt, that were giving to our kids and grandkids, not only does that comply with pay-go, we can go ahead and spend another $473 billion on top of it. This, Madame Speaker, is a fiscal charade.

Real people, from both parties, need to step up and solve this problem. Ive thrown out a few ideas of my own. I hope other Republicans and Democrats do the same. Because Madame Speaker, if we dont tackle this problem, its going to tackle us.

Our constituents sent us here to be a part of the solution, and not a part of the problem. We know irrefutably were going to bequeath this mountain of deficit and debt onto the next generation. Both of our parties share in the blame. No one party corners a virtue on fiscal responsibility. But were going to together have to come down here and fix this problem once and for all, and doing this doesnt do it. Doing this is a cop-out. Doing this raises the debt limit $1.9 trillion, and gives us a fiscal cop-out so that we can go talk tough in the election about how we did this and that, while we bequeathed the next generation an inferior standard of living.

I didnt come here to make sure that my three kids are going to have a life thats worse off than ours. Nobody here wants that, so lets get this fixed, defeat this bill, come together, and get serious about real fiscal discipline. The American people are not under-taxed, we overspend."

[frawin]

I think these videos were well worth the time they take to watch them.  

[Varmit]

A republican talking about overspending...thats funny.  This is a problem with a simple answer that neither side, with all their Ivy league education, surprisingly misses.  The federal gov't doesn't have the authority to provide healthcare. They talk of healthcare reform...again the answer is simple.  Drop the legislation that restricts how insurance companies work and allow health coverage to be sold over state lines. 

These bozo's have a lot of nerve trying to convince the American people to trust them with healthcare reform, they can't even manage the post office.

[Warph]

The difference between Bill Clinton and Barack Obama's political instincts couldn't be clearer with the Health Care Summit.  Clinton knew when to get out, shift focus and outplay his opponents.  Obama meanwhile remains under the delusion that he's a bulldozer that can wreck anything in his path.  And so the health care disaster keeps on chugging along.

About the only thing that his Health Care nationalization project has accomplished, has been to hijack Obama's office, and focus it and congress on a controversial and unpopular proposal.  And just because HealthCare.gov has only gotten more unpopular, the longer it chugs along, doesn't mean that Obama is about to drop that hot potato.  No, like the Spartan boy and his fox, he insists on letting it tear him to pieces in the hopes that he can push through and get his bill passed.

And so what should have been a Senate victory on a jobs bill, an issue that the public cares about, was instead overshadowed by the health care summit, an event which no one thought would accomplish anything, and to no one's surprise didn't.  The Republicans weren't going to get caught flatfooted a second time, and all the session accomplished was to repeat an already old debate, while giving the Republican side more airtime for their views than had been previously possible.

At this point, Obama has to either gamble on a congress desperate enough to go for Reconciliation, even though it's wholly illegal.  Or hope that ala Scott Brown, he can lure more Republicans to his side.  But while Brown might have played the bipartisan tune, on a jobs bill, an issue he can always safely take to the political bank without any real hopes of a sizable backlash, few Republican Senators are going to be interested in climbing on board an unpopular bill that most Americans don't want.

So what's next?  Sure Obama is hoping to at least take the GOP down with him, along with the Democratic congress, and he might succeed in convincing the public that both parties aren't worth their vote, but it's a kamikaze maneuver at best.  One that requires real desperation to even contemplate.  And while Obama won't face his own election for a few more years, his ability to get things done depends on congressional support.  Without that he'll be stuck doing the international flybys, and delivering speeches in foreign countries that no one cares about at home, essentially turning him into Tony Blair.

Obama's lack of real Senate experienced has convinced him that if he keeps fighting hard enough, he can win.  But surrounded by aggressive fighters like Rahm Emanuel in hock to their own reputation, he lacks the long view that sometimes the smarter move is to shift the topic.

The longer he focuses on health care, the more ineffectual his image becomes.  And even if he somehow manages to force health care through, it will be cheered by very few on his own site.  Meanwhile whether health care succeeds or fails, the odds are good that it will be the new NRA, and will take the blame for Democratic midterm losses.  Which may put a definitive end to any more grand programs emanating from the White House.

But Obama instead is trying to play parliamentary politics, holding summits, debating Senators and trying to control the entire party and every single Democratic politician's election campaign.  Of course despite his embrace of non-American parliamentary politics, Obama is still wedded to his contempt for the UK. 
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/02/25/obama-votes-present-on-whether-the-falklands-belong-to-britain/
A somehow baffling contempt, as unless the British killed his father, repeatedly insulting an ally is not a smart move, particularly when you have a shortage of allied forces propping up your Afghan initiative.

.......Warph

[Warph]

A republican talking about overspending...thats funny.  This is a problem with a simple answer that neither side, with all their Ivy league education, surprisingly misses.  The federal gov't doesn't have the authority to provide healthcare. They talk of healthcare reform...again the answer is simple.  Drop the legislation that restricts how insurance companies work and allow health coverage to be sold over state lines. 

These bozo's have a lot of nerve trying to convince the American people to trust them with healthcare reform, they can't even manage the post office.

Obama spent close to two trillion in 2009 and if the health care bill passes this year, it will cost the tax payer over 5 trillion in the years to come.  I'd say the dopey demo's are way ahead of the republicans in spending.  And now Obama talking about taxing ALL americans up the gazoo to pay for something they don't want.  Next will be Cap and Trade.  The repubs have their faults but this crazy clown of a president is about to bankrupt this country.  It will take years to get out of this mess he has put us into.  And it is going to fall on our kids and great-grand kids to pay for this.  But we have a recourse, vote the democrats OUT in 2012.  This will start to put us on the right track!